Better On My Own
by T.J. Ryan 94
Summary: Aaron is a mature 19 year old who cares for his disabled mother and looks after his younger sister, he's learnt from a young age to only rely on himself. Jamie is a confident nurse who comes from a background similar to Aaron. When they become work collegues at Holby City, Aaron finds that he can open up to Jamie and they become close. But Aaron has a dark past and darker secrets
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

_Aaron_

"Lucy, hurry up!" I called from the bottom of the stairs, then I heard a loud crash from the kitchen and hurried back into the room to find the tea pot smashed and Mum looking pissed off as she manoeuvred her wheelchair as she tried to pick up the smashed pieces herself.

"Mum, let me do that." I assured her, quickly picking up the broken pieces and putting them into the bin "why didn't you ask me for help?"

"Because I'm still your mother and I can do some things on my own!" Mum snapped irritably and I tried to ignore her abruptness as I mopped up the mess.

Oh Christ, it was going to be one of those days.

I made a fresh pot of tea (with a spare tea pot) as my fourteen year old sister Lucy walked in, wearing her school uniform with her rucksack slung over her shoulder.

"I'm off, I'll grab some breakfast on the way." Lucy said and I frowned at her, guessing why she wanted to leave so early.

"I can walk you to school if you want," I offered, but again I already knew her answer.

"Lucas is walking me," Lucy said casually, smiling to herself as she grabbed an apple from the fruit basket on the dinning table.

Lucas was her boyfriend (of two years), but as big brother I wasn't allowed to admit I thought he was a good kid and I figured out early on in their relationship that the more I pretended to disapprove the more serious their relationship got.

"Make sure he looks after you," I warned as she walked towards the front door "or I'll spoon his eyeballs out and shoved them down his throat."

Lucy laughed, but didn't reply as she walked out the door.

"You got a letter from Holby City Hospital," Mum said suspiciously as she pointed to the pile of letters on the counter "what's it about?"

"How should I know?" I lied easily as I picked up the letter that was addressed to me and saw it was from the Accident and Emergency Department. I definitely knew what this was about.

"I'm just going to pick some milk up from the shop," I told her quickly and pulled on my jacket that was lying on the chair near the table, heading towards the door as fast as possible.

"We've already got milk-" Mum began, but I was already out the door and missed the end of that sentence.

I headed down the estate that was pretty much deserted and sat on a nearby bench and held the letter apprehensively.

I hadn't told my Mum I applied for a job as a student nurse at the local hospital because I knew she would freak out. I'm already working at a pub as a cleaner during the week and a waiter at the local café on weekends, but as the man of the house I needed to start bringing in the money and get those bills that were stacking up sorted. Since Mum had that car accident when I was fourteen that ended up with her being paralysed from the waist down, my Dad pissed off with some cheap tart and I quickly became man of the house/Mum's carer/Lucy's guardian in just two weeks. I graduated college last month with a medical degree, it was time to put it to good use.

I opened the letter and sighed with relief when I saw that they wanted to offer me a position, which was going to get me one step closer to becoming a nurse and bringing in some serious money.

I grinned as I got up and walked towards the local shops, looking round as a car turned the corner and bolted towards me.

I felt the full force of impact before I blacked out.

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**Author's Note: Hey, hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and a review would be greatly appreciated as this story is brand new. This is going to be a tester chapter to see what you readers think and if it gets a good response, I'll definitely continue this fanfic as a proper story.**

**:)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_Jamie_

I stood with Robyn at the reception's desk, both of us holding a cup of coffee and I was only partially listening to what she was saying. I've just received a call from my Dad that has really put a downer on my good mood and Robyn didn't even notice anything was wrong, she just kept babbling. It was my Dad's birthday next month and I was dreading it because he wanted to do a family dinner, which means my brothers will be there and giving me shit. I guess you could say that my family life has never really been something from _It's a Wonderful Life_, but since my Mum pissed off when I was a kid, my Dad has had to be both parents and raise five sons on his own.

My Dad has always been a tough guy and my brothers quickly followed his lead, but as I was the youngest I was the one who got singled out… especially since I came out as gay when I was a teenager. That's why I was not looking forward to the family get-together, because my family don't like the fact I like guys and think it's just a faze.

I remember on my sixteenth birthday I got signed up to do boxing which did help me get fit, something I really enjoyed and a great way to get my aggression out when I was angry, but Dad thought it would just make a man of me.

We weren't close and probably never will be.

Uncle Jeff and Dixie burst through the main entrance with a guy on a stretcher, I rushed over and helped them move the guy down the corridor.

I looked down at the guy and saw that his face was cut and bruised, but his left arm looked mangled and I tried not to cringe. His hair was short and brown, he had a good built and he looked at me with fearful blue eyes.

"We've got a nineteen year old male, hit and run accident and it looks like a broken arm and dislocated wrist."

"I… need to get home…" the guy began, looking wildly around "my mum… she can't be left on her own, she's…"

"Shh," I said gently as we pushed him into the patient's room, moving the stretcher to the spare bed "don't try to talk, okay?"

"No, I…"

"Let us do our job, sweetheart" Dixie said and then turned to the rest of us "on the count of three, we'll lift him to the bed, alright?"

Once we had him on the bed, I helped him into a sitting position and examined his arm to see how bad it was. If I'm being honest, he was really lucky to have only got away with his injuries and it could have been a lot worse. Dixie and Uncle Jeff left not afterwards, leaving me alone with my patient.

"So, what's your name?" I asked with a smile that I was glad to see he returned.

"Aaron, what about you?" Aaron said.

"I'm Jamie," I said and then went back to his wrist "okay, I need to push this back in… so this will hurt, alright."

Aaron gave a small nod and closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain. One… Two… Three.

"FUCK!" Aaron cried as I pushed his wrist back into its socket.

"Sorry, mate" I gave an apologetic smile as I went to the supplies to prepare to put his arm in a sling.

"You're not going to have to cut it off, are you?" he asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

I looked at him over my shoulder and gave a small laugh.

"Nah, you should be alright."

"Not really how I expected my first day being here to be," Aaron said with a small laugh.

"Oh, you're the new student nurse?" I asked as I walked back to the bed and Aaron nodded.

"Yep, I'm hopefully meant to be starting in a couple weeks," Aaron then looked at me with uncertainty "do you think I should be all sorted bt then?"

I hesitated, but then decided to be honest.

"I'm not sure, but your position won't be messed with by this," I assured him, but Aaron looked irritated "seriously, they're okay here."

Aaron nodded, but remained silent as I placed his arm into a cast and sling, only wincing and not complaining or crying out in pain. After I sorted his arm, I began cleaning and stitching up the cuts on his face. I tried to make conversation, but Aaron seemed lost in thought so I only spoke after he was all cleaned up.

"Do you remember what happened?" I asked and Aaron gave a small shrug.

"The car swerved to avoid me, but still hit me and left me on the side of the road" Aaron shook his head and frowned at the floor "I guess I'm lucky that I didn't get any cracked ribs of some seriously life threatening onjuries. Always look at the positives, right?"

"Definitely." I said with a grin and Aaron chuckled, but my good mood vanished when Lloyd walked into the room and looked at me with a serious look.

"We need to talk," he said angrily and motioned for me to come outside "now, Jamie."

"I'm with someone right now, so it'll have to wait." I said firmly and turned back to Aaron, but Lloyd's fierce gaze still burned into the back of my skull. I wasn't going to allow that dickhead to order me around, especially when we were supposed to be mates.

"I'm not going to fucking ask you twice!" Lloyd snapped and Aaron turned and glared at him.

"Oi mate, wash your mouth out and show a little respect!" Aaron said angrily and I turned to see Lloyd look angrily at him and then turned on me.

"I mean it, we need to talk." Lloyd said bitterly before leaving and slamming the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_Aaron_

My arm hurt like hell and even though Jamie had done a great job at putting it in a sling properly, nurses and doctors kept checking on me and it was seriously starting to get annoying. Although things did pick up when I got a surprise visitor.

"Hey, is this really how you want to waste your nine lives?"

I was sitting up in bed when Rae, my oldest and blondest friend walked into the room with a big smile. Typically Rae, whenever she is upset or worried she resolves to use sarcasam as a defence and I could tell she was probably freaking out when I called her.

"Is my mum alright?" I asked when she gave me an awkward hug and sat in a chair by the bed.

I had been calling everyone to get someone to keep an eye on my mum, Rae was always the most reliable when it came to me needed help and she was on her way to my house before I hung up the phone.

"Yeah, she's with your Nan in the canteen," Rae said hesitantly and I groaned in frustration. Bloody brilliant "I'm sorry, but it was either your Nan or that fucking arsehole that fathered you and Lucy."

Great, my stuck up Nan that thought I was a hug disappointment was here to play the caring grandmother. What a two faced bitch! I looked at Rae who gave me an apologetic smile and I nodded, giving a small smile to show I wasn't mad at her. I could deal with my Nan being here, but if Dad showed up then I would seriously be pissed off.

Jamie walked in, smiling at me and holding a cup of coffee in his hands. Rae instantly turned and it was so obvious that she was checking him out, she's really not subtle and never has been when it's come to her and blokes.

"I thought you might be thirsty," Jamie said, passing me the coffee "and there's nothing wrong with having a good buzz of caffeine."

"So thoughtful," Rae cooed and I fought to roll my eyes as she held her hand out, shaking his hand "I'm Rae, you got a name?"

"Yeah, Jamie. Nice to meet you" Jamie said politely and turned back to me "let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"Cheers," I said and he left, closing the door behind him. Rae turned on me, a smug look on her face.

"He seems nice," Rae said with a smirk, reading too much into a situation as usual "what's his story?"

"We've only just met," I explained "he sorted out my arm when I was rushed in here, that's it."

"He's cute," Rae observed and I pretended not to hear that, does she always have to be so… observant?

I wasn't going to let her play match-maker with me and Jamie, especially since I only just met him and I wasn't ready for everyone to know that….

I only told Rae on my eighteenth, when I was drunk one night and poured my heart out about my family drama and personal stuff that I wasn't even ready to admit to myself yet. Ever since my Mum's accident and all the shit that came with it, I kept my feelings and problems to myself and made my main focus to be the man of the house and keep a roof over our heads. That was my main focal point and will be for the years to become, Lucy and Mum were my main priority and my personal issues came a very distant second.

"Maybe I'll give him your number when I start working here," I told her coolly, trying to seem casual.

"That's not what I meant," Rae said with a raised eyebrow and I suddenly felt sick.

I know what you meant, I thought bitterly.

Luckily I was saved from answering her by Lucy hurrying into the room, her eyes were red and it looked like she'd been crying… something Lucy never did.

"Hey, Lu" I said with a reassuring smile, but she rushed to the side of my bed and threw her arms around my neck and hugged me.

"Don't scare me like that," Lucy said tearfully and I returned the hug with my good arm "aren't you the one who always reminded me about road safety? Yet you're the one who nearly gets run over."

"Nearly," I told her as she pulled away from me and sat next to Rae on a spare seat "I'm alright, nothing serious happened."

"You idiot boy!" a woman said and I turned to see my Nan standing in the doorway, pushing my Mum's wheelchair into the room "you act like nothing can hurt you! I should have called your father about this, he has a right to know.

I glared at her, my anger too much to control and the bitter words cam flying out of my mouth.

"Try it and I'll tell that fool where to go!" I told her angrily, but the look on Mum's face made me shut up as she burst into tears.

"I thought I was going to lose you!" she cried and the tears fell freely down her face. Lucy looked hesitantly at me and turned back to Mum, returning to being her confident and straight-talking self.

"Mum, lets not be all doom and gloom," Lucy tried to say, but Mum was going on a rant.

"WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENED?!"

"But it didn't," Rae tried to protest, but Mum wasn't listening.

"What if he died?!" Mum bawled and I was getting more frustrated, ifs were something Mum always focused on and there was no getting through to her.

"Mum, I'm fine." I told her and she suddenly turned her anger on Lucy.

"You should have let him take you to school!" Mum raged angrily "if you had left with Aaron and not gone off with that Lucas boy, none of this of this would have happened!"

I sat there stunned. How the hell was this Lucy's fault? I was the one who didn't notice that car speeding at me, it was that bastard who was driving over the limit that hit me fault.

"How is this my fault?!" Lucy asked, glaring at Mum and fighting back tears.

"No, it's not her fault!" I told Mum, fuming at her hurtful words "That prick who hit me with his car is the one to blame!"

"Don't talk to your mother like-" Nan began, but Lucy jumped to her feet and glared at her.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?!" Lucy demanded furiously "you don't bother with us for months and the minute something happens, you jump in and act like the Grandmother of the Year! You're just pathetic, you and my Dad are two peas in a fucking pod!"

Nan stepped forward and slapped Lucy hard across the face, causing her to stagger slightly sideways from the force and she rubbed her now red cheek tearfully.

Rae gasped with shock, but I had been pushed to my limit and never felt such hatred for someone as much as I did now.

"Get the fuck out!" I shouted at the old woman, who looked at me in alarm and took a step back "I swear if I wasn't stuck in this bed, I'd throw you out myself. I mean it, get out!"

Nan didn't need telling twice, she turned and hurried out of the room without another word.

Tears fell down Lucy's face as she looked at Mum for support, but she remained silent and said nothing.

"Fine… I see how it is" Lucy said quietly and ran from the room in tears.

"Lucy!" I called, but she was already gone and I turned on Mum who was still silent "go after her, you're her mum!"

Mum looked as if I was speaking a foreign language, looking lost for words and made no move to follow Lucy.

"She shouldn't have spoken to your grandma like that," Mum said weakly and I looked at her in disbelief.

"How can you defend that bitch for slapping your daughter in the face?!" I raged and she looked terrified "you keep saying you're still our mother, well find Lucy and comfort her!"

Jamie rushed in at that moment, looking at us in concern and was trying to be the voice of reason.

"Alright, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Jamie said firmly, looking at Rae and Mum "this is a hospital and if you can't be quiet in here, then take your disagreements outside!"

Rae nodded and turned to give a me a sincere look.

"I'll go find Lucy," Rae said gently, getting up and walking out the room in search for Lucy.

Jamie stood at the door, looking at my mother and was deciding whether to ask her to leave.

"Aaron?" Mum began, but I turned my head and fought the tears that tried to escape. I didn't even want to look at her and I definitely didn't want to cry in front of these lot.

"Just go," I told her through gritted teeth and closed my eyes, only looking round when I heard the door closed and Jamie was the only one left in the room. I felt embarrassed as his dark eyes looked at me with sympathy, I didn't want his pity.

"Sorry you had to hear that," I told Jamie quietly, not meeting his gaze and he gave me a small smile.

"That's okay," Jamie said and gave a comforting smile "do you need anything?"

"Yeah, just leave me alone for awhile." I said and leaned back on my pillows, looking up at the white ceiling.

"All right, just let me know if that change." Jamie's voice said and I heard the door open and close, finally I was left alone.

Bitter tears fell down my face. This was the sad fact of my life, I was the glue that held my family together and I was struggling to stop is falling apart.

_Jamie_

The next day after I overheard Aaron's family row, I walked down the corridor to see how he was doing today. I could tell that he was upset, but was determined not to show it and I was just hoping he was okay today. My lot usually have massive arguments and I usually was the one who I tried to stop, but Aaron seemed like the peacemaker of his household and it was clearly getting to him.

Aaron seemed like the peacemaker of his household and it was clearly getting to him.

We were going to be working together soon, so as a work colleague I would just let him know I would be there for him and we could talk anytime he needed.

I walked into his room to find it empty and the bed sheets in a pile on the side, with no sign that Aaron had been there.

In the reception, I found Zoe.

"Hey, Zoe" I said as I walked up to her and she gave me a friendly smile "the guy who was brought in yesterday, Aaron, he's not in his room."

"Yes, I discarded him this morning, but he'll be back in a few weeks. You know he's the new student nurse, right?" she said and I nodded, but then she gave me a quizzical look "why, is something wrong?"

"Nah, I just wanted to see how he was" I said casually as she smiled and left, but Lloyd entered the room and glared at me.

I turned and headed down the corridor, trying to ignore Lloyd's hateful gaze.

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**Autor's Note: Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**A review would be much appreciated, it's always great to hear what you readers think :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_Jamie_

I got into the Staff Room and turned to see Lloyd marching in and shit the door behind him, but I met his glare with on my own and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Alright, what's your problem?" I demanded in annoyance "for two days you've been giving me shit and we're supposed to be mates, you even tried to undermined me while I was caring for a patient."

"Your brother has got some fucking attitude!" Lloyd snapped and I rolled my eyes, he was so mature… he has a problem with one of my older brothers and takes it out on me, someone who has nothing to do with it "he asks me to lend him sixty quid and hasn't paid me back for the last four weeks!"

"Which brother?" I asked, but couldn't think of anyone in particular. I wouldn't put it pass Reece, Oliver, Dwayne or Brendan to ask one of my work mates for money and make no attempt at paying it back.

"Oliver," Lloyd muttered bitterly and I nodded, still glaring at him and feeling pissed off.

Oliver has had a track record for borrowing money from people in the past and the family has learnt to not lend him any money, but it looks like he's starting begging off my mates and I'm not having him humiliating me at work.

"Right, I'll talk to him and get it sorted," I told Lloyd angrily and went to walk out, but I turned back and frowned at my mentor that was suppose to be my mate "but for future references, next time you got a problem and you wanna act the big man, be a proper mate and talk to me about it man to man, alright?"

Lloyd looked at me with an awkward expression, looking unsure of what to say.

"I'm… yeah, sorry…"

"Whatever, I've got work" I said angrily, before turning and storming out the room.

Some mate Lloyd turned out to be.

_Aaron_

Four weeks after my _Need for Speed_ incident, I was walking back into the Holby City reception to get my cast taken off and I was glad to have an excuse to get out the house. The atmosphere in the house has been terrible and my Mum has been silent and filled with self-pity, but Lucy has been much worse.

She hasn't said two words to Mum and has been acting like a girl on auto-pilot, she's been going to school and does normal stuff at home but her feelings are clearly hurt with plenty of angry feeling directed at Mum and she's even been avoiding Lucas.

I sat in the waiting room and sighed deeply, knowing this couldn't go on and I needed to sort this shit before it got seriously out of hand.

"Can't keep away can you, Aaron," a familiar voice laughed and I looked up to grin at Jamie, who sat next to me giving his easy smile.

"Yeah, I'm glad this finally gets to come off," I said, gesturing at my plastered arm and Jamie chuckled.

"Well, it's good to see you have friends that care about you," Jamie said, reading the messages my old college mates had written on my cast with a small smile "I see your mate Rae has left her mark."

I laughed quietly and looked down at my arm, which was almost covered in Rae's handwriting.

_To Aaron,_

_Get Well Soon, Babe!_

_Love you, but stop playing chicken in the road xxxx_

_When this comes off, make sure you give a fit doctor my number ;)_

_Rae (the one and only!)_

"Yeah, the girl's kind of OCD sometimes," I said and Jamie nodded and I found myself enjoying his company, he was really easy to talk to.

An Indian woman that I'd met briefly a few weeks ago (I think her name was Zoe) walked over with a cheerful smile, glasses perched on her nose.

"Ready to get that off?" Zoe asked as I stood up to greet her.

"Absolutely," I sighed, desperate for the use of both my arms again and not having to rely on other people to help out with my family situation.

I went to follow her down the corridor, but Jamie stood up quickly and put a hand on my arm to stop me.

"Hold up," he said softly, a grin on his face as he pulled a pen from his pocket and began writing on one of the last few empty spaces left on my cast. His dark hand wrote very neatly across the space and went he finished he flashed me another grin, before pocketing his pen.

"I'll see you later, Aaron" Jamie said before turning and walking up the corridor.

I looked down at Jamie's handwriting and found myself smiling at the words he'd wrote:

_Hey Aaron,_

_Glad you're feeling better and I look forwarding to working with you, you'll do great here!_

_See ya soon,_

_Jamie_

_P.S. Anytime you need an arm fixed you know who to call ;)_

"Aaron?"

I looked up to see Zoe still waiting for me, realising that I must look like a prat smiling at a message that a nurse that I'd knew for a few weeks wrote.

"Shall we?" Zoe asked, but I noticed a smirk curving her lips and I hoped to god she wasn't jumping to conclusions.

"Yeah, sure…" I mumbled, forcing a smile as I followed her into another room.

Freedom, I thought happily as the plaster cast was removed and I was finally able to move my arm. I was sitting on a bed, proving to Zoe that I was able to move my arm normally and was more eager to start a more important conversation.

"Well do you think I can start work?" I asked her and she looked slightly surprised, did she forget that she'd hired me or something?"

"Whenever you feel up to it, but-"

"Tomorrow is good for me," I said quickly cutting her off and was trying to get the all clear ASAP, I seriously needed this job.

"That soon?" Zoe asked, looking more shocked and I nodded "you're sure?"

"Yeah, I can handle it and I'm feeling a lot better" I assured her and wanted to jump in the air and whoop when I saw her give a small smile.

"Alright, you start your shift tomorrow morning," Zoe said, picking up her clipboard and smirking at me again "Jamie has the same work times as you."

I nodded, wondering why she thought I wanted to know this and not totally understanding her meaning.

"He's single by the way," Zoe continued with that god-knows-all-smile "just in case you were planning on asking him out, you should know he's a free agent and a good kid."

Alarm bells began ringing loudly in my head and I suddenly felt like bolting from the room and drowning myself in the River Themes. How could she think I was interested in Jamie? She thought I found him attractive?!

You do! A voice in my head thought slyly.

His dark skin, lean muscle build, easy smile, cropped hair and deep black… that all made him good-looking.

No!

I tried to calm myself, keep my emotions casual.

"He's not my type," I said evenly and Zoe looked confused "I'm not into guys that way."

"Oh…" Zoe said awkwardly, looking slightly disappointed "my mistake."

As I walked out the hospital and the cool evening air hit me, I felt comforted by the thought that I was starting a job that would bring in more money that'll help provide for my family and not let my thoughts stray to Jamie or my uncomfortable conversation with Zoe.

_Jamie_

I was glad when my shift had finally ending and night had truly fallen, allowing me to get out of my nurse's uniform and get back into my casual clothes.

Aaron had started work today and I had never seen a Student Nurse so committed to his job, he was very hands on with helping the patients and paid attention to what Adam (his new mentor) told him.

I glanced at Aaron and smiled at him as he packed his rucksack and slung it over his shoulder, for a white guy he was quite good-looking..

I pulled on my jacket and grinned at him, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"Got any plans tonight?" I asked and Aaron shook his head, making me feel slightly less nervous about what I was about to ask. Why should I be nervous? It wasn't a big deal.

"Nope, none" Aaron said and looked at me hesitantly "why?"

"Just wondered if you fancied going for a drink with me," I said casually and then quickly added so he wouldn't think I was trying it on "just as mates, to celebrate your first day."

Aaron looked thoughtful as we walked out of the locker room and down the hall, clearly considering it.

"I dunno…" he said slowly, but I wasn't giving in that easy and wrapped an arm around his shoulders in a friendly way.

"Come on, mate" I pleaded, grinning playfully at him "one drink, it'll give us a chance to get to know each other outside work… I'll even get the first round in"

My grin grew wider as we walked into the car park and I saw Aaron give a reluctant smile.

"Alright, one drink." Aaron said in surrender, but I noticed he couldn't keep the smile off his face.

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**Author's Note: Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed, make sure you leave a review to give your thoughts on this chapter and favourite/follow this story if you haven't already.**

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